


The Twin: Book 3 (an Interlude in the Mess that is Lily Smythin's life)

by effervesce_illusion



Series: The Twin [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: But you might not have to read this, I mean Draco is a Veela since end of the 2nd book, Letters, Magical Inheritance, Oh Pettigrew escapes Azkaban but that is very briefly mentioned, This is Lily's third-year and will not make sense if you haven't read the others, Travelling the Magical World, Wrong Boy-Who-Lived (Harry Potter), and she is going to have an inheritance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:35:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24903184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/effervesce_illusion/pseuds/effervesce_illusion
Summary: Lily has just killed a basilisk set upon the students by a Horcrux possessing Ginevra Weasley, set upon Hogwarts by an unsuspecting Uncle Lucius. As such, she travels. Because, on occasion, outside is where one will find theirself again, and Lily probably needs a breather.
Series: The Twin [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1236599
Comments: 6
Kudos: 150





	1. New York

**Author's Note:**

> These chapters will likely be very short and not much will happen, honestly. I just really enjoyed writing these and I needed an explanation for what Lily did when she was gallivanting around everywhere but Europe, and ta-da! As always, feedback is appreciated :)

New York never sleeps. It is the perfect city for Lily, who does not particularly want to sleep much of the time anymore.

There are dreams of her parents dying, which are worse now than they were years back, only because now she had Samhain night conversations with them and, combined with the knowledge that they have died for her, that they watch over her, that they eagerly wait for her every year to talk to her and do not pressure her to bring Lloyd to talk, although she knows they want, desperately, to talk to their other child, too… well. Combined with all that, Lily knows that even if they weren’t related by blood, Lily would choose them as family, anyway, and she knows them well enough and loves them well enough that the dreams are more nightmarish than the vague memory it used to be.

It is either that or dreams where she is just filled with the vague, abstract concept of terror. Arguably, Lily has not been terrified by one single instance; rather, the terror has built for her, in small increments, until it is nearly swamping.

Lily, now that she has more time alone to be contemplative, and is perhaps also older now, a little jaded, too, because of her encounters with the Dark Lord, knows that if there’s one thing she could win a gold Olympic medal for, it would be the ability to immerse herself in work to distract from everything else, if that were an Olympic event.

It’s a good thing, then, that she’s working in conjunction with MACUSA to set up the same orphanages she’s already helped set up in Wizarding Britain.

It requires a lot of fast travel (she does not stay in one state overnight, always dropping by for work, then visiting one monument and one restaurant before going back to New York), a lot of paperwork and socializing, a lot of magic, sometimes. Lily even takes on the job of telling Muggleborns that magic flows through their veins, that they can do things like play Quidditch and unlock doors with a swirl and some words, with less if you practise. In their eyes, Lily thinks she might see a little of herself—bright, excited. No young child from a regular family goes into the Wizarding World and wants to uproot the culture, though some certainly wouldn’t seek to learn the culture.

It’s a fight, truly, to keep the remnants of the Fair Folk alive, and Lily thinks that in doing these small tasks, she’s slowly made peace with the time when the Fair Folk fury half-controlled  _ her _ instead of her controlling her fury. Lily knows she was bound to slip up at some point, and at least she slipped up surrounded by people who knew what was happening, who reminded her to pull back to herself. Surely, things hadn’t been  _ ideal _ , but they also could have gone significantly worse, considering the safety of the school rested in the hands of a twelve-year-old against an insane mass murderer’s sentient Horcrux and a basilisk.

Using the connected notebooks, Lily updates her friends nightly, pasting moving photographs she took using the magical camera the Bones gave her last year and writing a few captions, bullet-pointed lists of what she’s done, occasionally a witty line or two, and responses to questions asked the previous day by her friends.

She always makes sure to check in on whatever Draco’s written, though, especially tidbits on his life and small accomplishments with the Veela change—he’s gotten better at flying, he’s got allure and he finally has it under control, the other day Dobby dropped  _ another _ pudding and his father might  _ finally _ release the poor house-elf.

At first, MACUSA was understandably hesitant about Lily, but she does come with her recommendations—Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic; Lord Malfoy, a prominent politician and the mastermind of the orphanages—so they give her a chance to work.

Lily trusts her work, and it’s not without reason. MACUSA, by the end of the week, has overcome any difficulties accepting her age, and Lily enjoys the benefits of the trust she’s given. 

Nonetheless, every trip has to come to an end. As a thank-you, the president takes her to the Bronx Magical Zoo. At first, Lily had admittedly been unimpressed, but the day unravels and Lily’s drawn into the labs behind, where they study each animal, from the Great Horned Serpent to the magical cousin of the red panda. Knowledge has always been a beautiful distraction for Lily, and she’s already excellent at immersing herself in ugly distractions.

New York is the city which never sleeps. Lily appreciates it for her time there, and then in the middle of summer, she bids farewell to the Muggle neon lights and the magical always-busy streets in favour of Egypt, where she has plans to look at the pyramids and talk with Curse-Breakers.


	2. Egypt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily runs into the Weasleys.

Travelling by Portkey is a bit like stepping on a rollercoaster ride, all sunshine and thrills, and then getting painfully tugged in all sorts of directions until all you want to do is throw up, no more sunshine and thrills.

Lily’s getting used to the feeling, nonetheless—this time, she doesn’t even need to take a breather before she goes to find her hotel accommodations. It serves both Muggle and magical clientele, for which Lily is grateful; she’ll be able to get more information on the pyramids and Curse-Breaking from the information desk instead of having to wander around the town aimlessly.

She kind of thinks she should’ve learned Arabic before running around in Egypt. But that’s neither here nor there, as she’s in Egypt now, and she’s sure she can pick some up. She’s always been adept at languages.

Lily spends her night poring through books on Curse-Breaking. Eventually, she sleeps, getting a good hour in before the terror jerks her awake. She makes a mental note to get some Dreamless Sleep Potions. It doesn’t do to get addicted to them, but it doesn’t do to continually be sleep-deprived, either.

The next morning, Lily dresses with the idea of ‘classy but breathable’, despite knowing that she’ll cast Cooling Charms on herself so that even the afternoon Egyptian sun won’t bake her. It’s good to fit in but stand out wherever you go, and Lily knows presentation forms bias and bias is important.

The hotel provides breakfast so she goes there, grabbing a plate and spooning ful onto a plate, throwing some cheese and pita bread on top, and filling a cup of tea. She sticks to Earl Grey, because Lily needs  _ some _ amount of normalcy in her life, and finds a window seat to take. The sunlight filters through the window, bathing her in light. Lily relaxes a little as she begins to eat, folding the ful and cheese into the pita bread for a sort of sandwich.

Then, some very familiar voices make themselves known.

Lily tenses right back up.

“Fred and George Weasley! Leave poor Percy alone,” comes the scolding voice of the Weasley matriarch.

Lily hopes they don’t notice her. She’s not even tucked into a corner, though; she’s closest to the door, one of the few people already up, and one of the fewer people who have preferred the sunny side of the building.

No luck. They notice her—she’s fairly sure Ron notices her first, he tends to do that and then promptly look away, a flush rising up his neck and his jaw working. He stays silent, of course, but Ginny notices her next.

Ginny tugs on her mother’s sleeve, whispers something in her ear, and immediately Mrs Weasley’s eyes land on Lily, who’s had a growth spurt recently.

“Lily, dear!” Mrs Weasley calls.

Lily fully looks up and smiles. “Hi, Mrs Weasley,” she says. “Are you guys here for vacation?”

“All of us except Bill, he’s working,” Ginny says. Lily notices that Ginny looks much better now—less pale, much less tired. Her smile is brighter.

“Oh?” Lily says. 

“You haven’t met my two oldest sons,” Mrs Weasley breaks in. “This is Charlie, he’s been working on Romania with dragons,” she says, nodding at the stouter one. There are burn marks on him from the dragons. “And this is Bill. Currently a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts, he’s been working here on the pyramids. He’ll be walking us through the pyramids,” she says. Bill is lankier and taller than Charlie; he has tattoos and a couple of earrings instead of burn scars. He smiles, half-there, when he’s introduced.

Lily stands, smiles again. “It’s nice to meet both of you,” she says. “Charlie was the one who took Norberta the dragon in first-year, right?”

Charlie lets out a surprised laugh. “Yeah, you got me there,” he says. “You’re the girl who saved our sister last year?”

Lily winces and plays it off with a laugh and a pretence that it’s a cringe from the addressing of it rather than the memory. “It—I wouldn’t say  _ saved _ ,” Lily says.

“Are you here alone, dear?” Mrs Weasley says.

Lily doesn’t see a point in lying. She nods. “I thought I’d take a breather from Wizengamot and everything after the Chamber of Secrets,” she says. “I just got here yesterday from New York.”

Mr Weasley, who’s been shadowing his wife, visibly perks up. “Did you see those, ah, what do they call them? Neon lights? Those signs,” he says.

Lily laughs. “Yeah, New York City was full of them,” she says. “It was quite pretty, actually.” Lily knows she’s seen a lot of it; she explored Muggle streets late at night most of the time since her daylight hours were occupied with MACUSA.

“How do they—”

“Dear,” Mrs Weasley says reprovingly, cutting him off. “You can ask later. Lily, did you have any plans?”

Lily shrugs and shakes her head. “I was thinking of just wandering. Looking at a few pyramids, seeing if I could decipher curses, maybe venturing into the wild to see if I run into a sphinx.”

She figures it’s the last part which has Mrs Weasley’s eyes widening in alarm. “Would you like to tag along with us, then?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose—”

“Oh, no, really,” Mrs Weasley says. “You saved Ginny, you’re practically family.”

Everyone but Ron is smiling at her. To be fair, the twins are smiling mischievously, and Bill’s is still only a half-there smile, but nonetheless, they are all showing teeth in expressions of joy. Lily gives in to the peer pressure and nods, putting another smile on, keeping it magnetic. (She supposes that’s what Draco called allure. Technicalities.)

“Thank you,” she says.

She accompanies them as Bill walks them through every single tomb, pointing out curses and, occasionally, the results of them. At one point, Fred and George try to shut Percy into one of the pyramids, put beetles into Bill’s soup (the Sneakoscope Ron bought flashing the whole while, which Lily thinks is fine because the twin Weasleys are always untrustworthy, 24/7) and try to prank her with a simple hex.

Lily dodges it. It hits Charlie instead.

After that, Lily helps the twins with their pranks, as that’s the only way to make sure they don’t prank  _ her _ .

As the days under a bright sun, sand filling her shoes, drag by, they get around to what feels like every single pyramid Egypt has to offer. Lily doesn’t ask questions about the curses during Bill’s lectures, but she does mentally note them down and ask the local witches and wizards, or check out books on each one. (Perhaps Bill notices anyway, because after the first two days he starts spending much more time discussing each curse in-depth and pulls Lily into side conversations over meals about the curses he’s worked with. Occasionally, he talks about other ancient Egyptian magic, too.)

Overall, Lily knows she’s grown on the Weasleys. Ron willingly says hello to her in the mornings, now, which is always an improvement, and she’s explained a rubber duck to Mr Weasley, and the Weasley twins are thrilled at her brilliance when she overhears their whispered conversation— _ “the initials HB, what annoying name can they stand for” _ —and Lily suggests ‘Humongous Bighead’, because it seems par for the course for the Weasley twins.

In the last pyramid, Mrs Weasley almost refuses to let Lily go inside—Bill intervenes, though he can’t do the same for Ginny—because the pyramid contains all sorts of mutant skeletons of Muggles who’ve died there as a result of the curses. Lily doesn’t flinch in the face of any of them—she’s seen a dead basilisk, after all.

Finally, it’s her last day in Egypt—she’s headed straight back to Potter Manor so that she can prepare for her Veela inheritance. Before she leaves via Portkey, she gives all of them small gifts—Mr Weasley gets a mountain of decorative rubber ducks, the twins get a set of Egyptian pranks, Ginny and Ron both get the Egyptian Quidditch merchandise they’ve eyed the entire trip.

Egypt, Lily realizes, is the only place she’s been where she’s taken Dreamless Sleep every night. It’s been deceptively pleasant.


	3. Potter Manor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily gets her Inheritance and runs into some Problems, and as such has to spend her school year Anywhere But Hogwarts.

Pinky and Trinket greet Lily immediately with shouts of ‘Lady Potter!’ Lily smiles, weary, at them as they take her luggage and bring her to her room, where a bath is already drawn. 

“Mistress must be tired!” Pinky says. Lily’s learned that the Potter house-elves have a quirk of speaking like normal humans. “Trinket and I have prepared your rooms.”

“Thank you, Pinky.”

“Does Mistress want anything else? Lunch, perhaps?” Pinky says, eyes wide. Lily just smiles again.

“Lunch would be lovely.”

Pinky nods and Disapparates with a crack, reappearing in seconds with a platter of food. “Mistress can eat in her rooms after a bath. And then rest for the Inheritance.”

Lily laughs. It’s an order, she can tell, so she nods. “I’ll rest for my Inheritance,” she reassures. “I don’t know how it’ll go—”

“We will tell Hoppy to bring Scion Malfoy if we sense it going wrong,” she says. “Now, go take your bath.”

So Lily does. She very pointedly does not think about how much pain she’ll be in for the Inheritance—Draco’s refused to tell her, probably for the better, because although Lily’s curious she has to admit she doesn’t want to go into her Inheritance  _ terrified _ of having magic rip her body apart and stitch her back together.

Instead, she relaxes into the lavender-infused bath, letting the water lap her weariness away. Lily knows she can’t take Dreamless Sleep tonight; the potion in her system still will affect the magical work of the Inheritance, and the last thing she wants right now is a botched Inheritance.

Trinket rouses Lily. “Mistress,” she says. Lily glances up and sees the sun descended maybe an hour or two from the location before.

“What time is it?”

“Three o’clock,” Trinket says. “It’s time for lunch, and then bed.”

Lily smiles and nods. She’s glad her house-elves are at least equipped to deal with her in her most scattered moments.

The entire next day, Lily is on edge. The house-elves have told her to  _ rest _ and stay on her bed in case of the Inheritance, as the problem with being an orphan is that Lily has no idea when she was born.

It’s not until 11:59pm that the Inheritance hits, a jet of silver light slamming straight through the ceiling, the canopy of the bed, and into her chest.

When she comes back to consciousness an hour later, Lily just does her best to not scream—everything is being stretched. Her limbs, her bones, the muscle coiled tight around it. Her back is bursting with pain, sharp stabs that don’t stop coming. And the silver jet of magic is pushing into her, foreign and aching, elongating her body until Lily feels like she or her magical core might actually break.

She’s  _ very _ glad that Draco didn’t tell her any gory details about the Inheritance, because she can feel blood dripping down her back from where her wings burst out. Draco must’ve cleaned his blood up before Lily entered.

But that’s a peripheral thought, one that strays onto the edges of her consciousness, as she spends most of her mental effort on enduring the pain. Even after the silver jet of light disappears, Lily stays flat on the bed, trying to breathe through the new sensation on her back. Vaguely, she registers that her pyjama top has two holes now, from the wings, and also that it’s soaked with blood, which is a terrifying sensation.

She barely manages to clean it all up with a quick Scourgify before Draco is barging into her room.

“Lily,” he says, gentle voice at odds with the way the door slammed open. “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible,” Lily mutters. “I don’t wanna.”

He chuckles. “Lily, can you show me your wings? Also, I don’t know if you realize, but your allure is on. Dial it down, yeah, or you won’t be able to have any visitors but me and the house-elves.”

Lily opens one eye as she lets her wings unfold. It takes a bit of thinking before they do as she wants them to, but she gets there. “I visited you when your allure was on.”

“It wasn’t,” Draco says. “My struggle was how to turn it on. Yours is how to turn it off. Now, unfortunately, we do need to apply healing salve—”

Lily groans. “Noooo.”

Draco has the nerve to laugh again. “Lily, roll over. Your wings are pretty, but your back certainly is not.”

“You didn’t tell me they bled everywhere.”

“I thought you wouldn’t want to know.”

Lily hums. “I didn’t.” She sits up and retracts her wings into two silvery nubs to let Draco work in relative silence, broken when she hisses in pain.

“Lily, you’re going to have a lot of work to do before you can step foot in Hogwarts safely,” Draco mutters. “Your allure is going haywire.”

Lily frowns. “How am I  _ supposed _ to turn it off?”

“We’ll do some research tomorrow. There’s an entire week, anyway.”

* * *

Lily does  _ not _ find a way to turn off the allure. She knows she should’ve expected it, given her luck at any given moment.

In the notebook she uses to write to her Slytherin friends, she alerts them that she won’t be at Hogwarts for third-year due to unforeseen Veela issues, something both she and Draco have decided on for the better. It’d taken a bit of paperwork, but Lily’s very good at paperwork now, and it’s settled relatively quickly.

Blaise replies first.

_ It’s the allure, isn’t it? _

Lily can hear the hidden amusement, despite it only being in writing.

_ Screw off _ .

After her response, there’s a multitude of responses that somehow are both expressions of ‘we’ll miss you’, amusement, and general biting sarcasm. Lily doesn’t think she’d want them to reply any other way. She writes back.

_ I’ll just have fun in Greece while you suffer at Hogwarts, the School of You Never Know What’ll Happen This Year. _

The responses are immediate.

_ Yeah, if you can get out of your house without being mobbed. _

_ Uh-huh. Let us know how Greece goes, with every stranger hitting on you _ .

_ Watch as nothing happens the only year you take a year off. _

_ The smart person would be staying at home, not going to Greece, but go off I guess. _

Lily laughs. She’s definitely going to Greece anyway, and perhaps pit stops in Italy, France, and Brazil.


	4. Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hogwarts year, told through a series of letters.

_ Lily, _

_ You would not believe the sheer number of people who are completely confused about why you aren’t here. We’ve all told them it’s just that you needed a breather after the entire incident of second-year, which is understandable. Somehow, the entire series of events which transpired in the Chamber is readily available to the public at large. _

_ My parents both send well-wishes, by the way. _

_ At Hogwarts, all the current second-years miss you terribly. Ginny Weasley came up to ask me where you were! Can you believe! And all the current first-years are being herded to us because we helped you last year, I’ll let you know that none of us are forgiving you for that. _

_ I know, technically, that we could use the connected notebooks, but I doubt everyone else wants so long a recap of what’s happened every week, so letter format it is. _

_ I’ll also have you know that your godfather is furious enough to talk to Padfoot and complain about how you haven’t talked to either of them. You should do that, and soon, if you don’t want them to literally Portkey to Greece and give you a talking-to. _

_ Also, do let us know how Greece goes, with your allure still running haywire. I hope you’ve found a way to conceal it, at the very least. _

_ Hermione Granger has gotten a kneazle named Crookshanks. Ginger and ugly, like Ronald Weasley, but there’s no accounting for taste. She was insistent that I tell you this, though why she even approached me I have no idea. Lily, all of your connections are desperate enough to talk to you that they’re coming to the big bad Slytherins. Please, for the love of Merlin, come back soon. I don’t know how much longer the rest of us can deal before we lose our sanity. _

_ Also, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor is Professor Lupin. I heard you know him, so I guess it sucks to be you. Divination, as expected, is terrible. Lloyd Potter’s death was predicted this year, so we’ll see what happens. All the other classes, I’ve heard, are fine, although Care of Magical Creatures is taken on by Hagrid now since Kettleburn retired. I don’t know if that’s a mistake yet or not. (You should expect letters from everyone else on their classes. Draco, especially.) _

_ How are you going to make up third-year, by the way? _

_ Anyway, hope you’re doing well, we miss you as much as we can, all things considered. _

_ Love, _

_ Pansy _

* * *

_ Dear Lily, _

_ I will have you know that you are the worst. The worst. So many Gryffindors coming up to us—thankfully not me, I’m too intimidating still, but some have dared to approach Pansy, so I’m guessing it’s only a matter of time. Did you know that Moony is Professor Lupin now? I hope he stays as the DADA Professor, honestly, but I cannot believe he didn’t tell any of us. _

_ Mother and Father send their well-wishes. Father’s a bit too busy to write—I’m sure you’ve heard—and Mother’s been sick, but expect a letter from her soon. And letters from Uncle Severus and Padfoot. _

_ Our classes have been fairly boring. I got mauled by a hippogriff in Hagrid’s first Care class, but I don’t know why I expected anything different. Apparently, hippogriffs don’t like Veela. Who knew? Anyway, my father was furious, and that’s why he’s been so much busier than normal. _

_ Runes has been fairly easy. Overall, I would say classes have been fairly easy. A result, I suppose, of all the Inheritances and Talents kicking in. And that we studied this curriculum in the summer before second year. _

_ On a serious note, how are you doing with your allure? If you can’t get a hold on it, it would be safer for you to hide out in Potter Manor rather than whatever you’re off doing in Greece and Italy (is it this week or the next that you’re going to Italy? Anyway, be sure to visit the Coliseum while you’re still in Greece, I’ve heard that the ghosts there are very talkative, especially to people they recognize as close-enough to the Fair Folk.) Of course, all this done only if the allure is under control. _

_ Anyway, Slytherin misses you. You’re making Uncle Severus grumpy and on edge 24/7 so even we’re getting the downsides of his bad mood, so if you could write back to him we would be very grateful. It would not be a debt because it’s your duty as a good goddaughter. _

_ Be a good goddaughter, Lily. Marcus Flint is desperate—he’s been assigned two detentions already. And our new Seeker, one of the first-years you helped (Astoria Greengrass’ friend) is terrible. I doubt we’re going to win the Quidditch Cup this year and Flint knows it and he’s been so depressed it’s disgusting. We’ll pull through for the House Cup, though. _

_ Remember you said you were going to keep in touch. _

_ Draco Malfoy _

* * *

_ Pansy, _

_ I… will write to everyone. Thanks for covering for me, I heard that everyone but Draco’s getting the brunt of having to socialize, Merlin forbid, with Gryffindors. _

_ My allure is not “running haywire”. It is merely… precocious, perhaps. It only flares up when someone gets too close, but that’s fine because I don’t want people getting too close, anyway. I just keep a nice bubble of personal space around me at all times. There have been no mobs coming at me, thankfully, and I’ve just been doing my own research and enjoying Greek cuisine. I’m moving onto Italy by the end of the week, too, so it’ll be a nice change of scenery. My control, at least, is getting better. Necessity is the mother of a lot of things, apparently. _

_ You didn’t ask for pictures, but I’ll send them anyway because everything is beautiful here and I want to bless your eyes, having to stay in Hogwarts all the time. _

_ Tell (or have someone tell, I don’t particularly care) Granger that she should tell me more about Crookshanks. Or something. I’m sure you’ll find a way to convey how interested I am. _

_ Moony did tell me that he got a new job. I should’ve expected, really. It’s a shame I’m not there, though, I want to see what his classes are like. _

_ I’m not surprised that Professor Trelawney predicted Potter’s death. Anyway, I hope you have fun making things up for a grade. Draco told me about the incident with the hippogriff in Care, I hope both of them come out relatively unscathed. He told me he was seriously injured, but I don’t quite believe that much, so if you could tell me how injured he actually is, that would be excellent. _

_ I’m making third-year up by just taking the exams with you to show that I’m qualified to enter fourth-year. Draco and I reviewed the third-year curriculum the summer before second-year, so I’m sure I’ll be fine. Let me know how classes go. _

_ Miss you too! (I know you didn’t say it, but I know you missed me anyway.) _

_ Love, _

_ Lily _

* * *

_ Dear Draco, _

_ Hello to you, too. I’ll write to everyone soon. Anyway, I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised since Moony  _ did _ say he was getting a new job soon. Uncle Severus must be brewing Wolfsbane Potion for him while he’s at school. Let me know how his classes are. _

_ Hippogriffs don’t like Veela, duly noted. I’ll be careful if I ever meet any. I hope you don’t have serious life-threatening injuries, as implied in your letter. _

_ My allure is fine as long as I keep a personal space bubble. I think I’m cleared for Italy, I’ll be sure to visit the Coliseum before leaving. I’ve attached some photos to bless you. _

_ Yes, I will be a good goddaughter, you’re welcome. _

_ Miss you, _

_ Lily _

* * *

_ Uncle Severus, _

_ I’ve heard from everyone that my lack of correspondence has gotten even Slytherin on your bad side. I’m here to reassure you that I am perfectly fine. My allure’s been improving because of necessity and I have not yet been mobbed. I’ve even attached some photos as proof! _

_ On the other hand, I heard that Moony’s the new defence professor. You’re brewing him Wolfsbane, aren’t you? Let him know I said hello, too. You haven’t written to me yet, but from what I’ve heard, you’re concernedly fretting about me even in Hogwarts, so I assume you miss me. I miss you too! _

_ Lily _

* * *

_ Padfoot, _

_ Just a reassurance that your Heiress is perfectly a-okay. I am having a splendid time, in fact—I recently visited the Coliseum and talked to the ghosts there about ancient magic. Fascinating to you, I’m sure, but I’ll spare you the details. I took some photos, too, and attached them. _

_ How’s politics going? Also, tell Moony I said hi, because I told Uncle Severus to tell him since they’re working together now (and I know you knew he was the Defence professor because you tell each other everything, why didn’t you tell me??) but I’m not sure Uncle Sev will tell him. _

_ Anyway, I miss both of you, but I’m also having a spectacular time so it’s mostly fine. I haven’t been taking Dreamless Sleep, I assure you. And I’m headed to Italy very soon, so if you’ve got any recommendations, send them. _

_ Lily _

* * *

_ Dearest Lily, _

_ I hope you’re doing well. Draco’s been keeping us updated with you through his letters back home, and I’m sure you know why we were unable to write. (Your uncle Lucius still is unable to write—he just keeps getting busier and busier.) _

_ If you ever need anything from our libraries on Veela, let me know—Draco certainly found books useful for him in controlling allure and wings. _

_ I thought you might be a little homesick, so I sent along some of the chocolates you love. We miss you. _

_ Aunt Narcissa _

* * *

_ Aunt Narcissa, _

_ Thank you so much for the chocolates! I hope you’re feeling better, too? I’ll of course let you know if I need any books. My control of everything’s been getting better, especially since I got mobbed in Italy. I escaped unscathed very quickly, it didn’t make it to the news either since I was in a Muggle area and I just had to Obliviate them. (Please don’t tell Uncle Severus or Padfoot, they’ll have my head.) _

_ I miss you all too. _

_ Lily _

* * *

_~As Summer Approaches~_

_ Lily,  _

_ Maybe it wasn’t Potter, but you, that made the first two years of Hogwarts so eventful. Literally nothing has happened and I can’t quite understand.  _

_ Also, Hermione Granger has been furious that you, running off on your world-trip, still managed to score higher on every exam than her. She’s less furious that I’ve beaten her. I will have you know that you only scored higher than me in Transfiguration because during that time, Peeves overturned my ink bottle and I lost time, before you even try to gloat. _

_ I appreciate your pictures of the Amazon. Please never send me a photo of that monstrous creature again. Thank you. _

_ Draco _

* * *

_ I realize this is out of our regular letter schedule, but I figured you would want to know. Peter Pettigrew escaped Azkaban. --Draco _

* * *

_ Draco, _

_ Maybe it  _ was _ me. Apologies. But you definitely appreciated the year of peace, didn’t you? _

_ I laughed when I read that. That sounds very much like Hermione. And just because an ink bottle was upturned does not excuse you failing to answer the last question of the test. Should’ve written faster. _

_ I’ve attached another photo of the said monstrous creature below. I dissected a dead one just the other day. Fascinating, but I had a nightmare that night, so 0/10. Would not do it again. _

_ Yes, right after I got your owl I saw it on the news. I admit I’m a little worried, but I doubt Pettigrew can do anything in his state unless he meets Lord Voldemort, and what are the chances of that? _

_ Hopefully, everything will be alright. If not, I’m sure bloody Dumbledore has a plan. _

_ Lily _


	5. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title implies, Lily returns to England, and a rat is mentioned in a total of two sentences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By far one of the shortest things I've written, and I was about to just not post it, but it's important but doesn't quite fit in with the fourth chapter. Think of this as a blurb, if you will. It did not take up even a half-page on google docs.

They’ve thrown her an entire welcome back to England party. Lily is somewhere between shock and amusement.

It’s somewhere in the middle of it, when she’s just watching everyone interact, that she realizes she  _ has _ missed them.

Padfoot is dragging Moony around everywhere, talking to the Malfoys and insulting Uncle Severus, who deals with it in decent grace; Blaise, Vincent and Gregory are eating (stuffing their faces), Daphne and Draco are playing Wizarding Chess while Daphne combs through (pets) Lily’s hair and Pansy’s half-draped over the couch, watching the game.

It is loud in a way which fades pleasantly into the background, a slight euphoric hum. Lily clamps down on the allure, but her lips still pull upward.

* * *

A sallow grey rat scampers between the trees of Albania, running on hard-packed dirt. There’s the whoosh of a dark spirit. It comes to hover before the rat, menacing—the rat freezes.


End file.
